In 1985, she signed to A&M Records, who released her debut album Union in 1988. She had previously provided backing vocals on David & David's album Boomtown. Later that year, she was nominated for two Grammy Awards, Best New Artist and Best Rock Vocal Performance (female). Her first national tour was opening for Bob Dylan. Her follow-up album House of Hope yielded a large hit in Australia with "I've Got To Go Now", but did not sell well in the US and was dropped from the A&M label. DGC Records, a subsidiary of Geffen Records, signed her and released her third album, The Woman's Boat. Although she was nominated for another Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance, the album sold poorly, and Childs was again left without a recording label. She recorded another album in 1996, but could not find a label to release it. Also in 1996, "The Very Best Of Toni Childs" was released, becoming the fifth biggest-selling album of 1996 in Australia. She retired from touring in 1997 after contracting a serious illness and starting the "Dream a Dolphin" charity. Childs released a song entitled "Because You're Beautiful", which won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music & Lyrics in 2004. She has recorded a new album entitled Keep the Faith, which is expected to be released in Australia in 2006 and in the US and UK in 2007.
Heaven's Gate
Toni Childs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Came to me in the light of truth
A beautiful dream that was
Till he died one rainy fall
There I was a child bride
Widowed at ninteen, defied
Never would I let him go
Go to the place that heaven knows
On the evening of his death
My shoulders felt a brushing breath
Cold were his hands on my breast
The man that I loved and put to rest
He came to me and held me close
We danced til dawn in the early snow
There I felt him cry and cry
"I'll never leave, leave your side"
Oh the madness
This town thinks I'm mad
Sixty years, has it been a dream
This man I'm haunted by, I see
I'm eighty years and on my bed
Awaiting death, that final breath
He sits by and looks to me
"Soon you will come and be with me"
Now I feel all warm inside
As I leave this mortal body behind
Seems it is eternal's way
We're waltzing into heaven's gate
Toni Childs's song "Heaven's gate" tells the story of a woman who fell in love with a man she met in her youth. They got married, but unfortunately, he died at a young age, leaving her a child bride and a widow at nineteen. She refuses to let him go and, as time goes by, she starts to experience his presence, even though he has already passed. She describes his cold hands on her breast, and how they danced until dawn in the early snow. The woman is now eighty years old and is waiting for death to finally join her beloved in heaven. The man appears before her and tells her that soon, she will come and be with him.
The lyrics of "Heaven's gate" are rich in imagery and emotion, portraying the enduring love between the woman and her departed husband. The song is a bittersweet reflection on mortality and human relationships. The woman's love is so strong that it transcends death, and she is comforted by the thought that she will soon join him in the afterlife. The chorus, "Seems it is eternal's way, we're waltzing into heaven's gate" captures the sense of acceptance and peace that comes with the inevitability of death.
Line by Line Meaning
A man I met in my youth
I met a man when I was young
Came to me in the light of truth
He came to me honestly and truthfully
A beautiful dream that was
It was a wonderful dream but it ended badly
Till he died one rainy fall
He passed away in autumn during a rainy day
There I was a child bride
I was married when I was young
Widowed at nineteen, defied
My husband died when I was 19, I refused to forget him
Never would I let him go
I could never let him go
Go to the place that heaven knows
I did not want him to go to heaven
On the evening of his death
The night he passed away
My shoulders felt a brushing breath
I felt a breath on my shoulder
Cold were his hands on my breast
His hands were cold when he touched my chest
The man that I loved and put to rest
The man I loved and buried
He came to me and held me close
He appeared and hugged me
We danced til dawn in the early snow
We danced until the early hours of the morning in the snow
There I felt him cry and cry
I felt him crying
"I'll never leave, leave your side"
"I will never leave you"
Oh the madness
I was considered insane
This town thinks I'm mad
The people in this town believe I am insane
Sixty years, has it been a dream
It has been 60 years, I am not sure if it was real or a dream
This man I'm haunted by, I see
I am still haunted by the man I loved
I'm eighty years and on my bed
I am 80 years old, lying in bed
Awaiting death, that final breath
Waiting for death to come
He sits by and looks to me
He is with me and looking at me
"Soon you will come and be with me"
"You will come and be with me soon"
Now I feel all warm inside
I feel warm inside
As I leave this mortal body behind
As I leave my physical body behind
Seems it is eternal's way
It seems to be how eternity works
We're waltzing into heaven's gate
We are dancing and entering into heaven's gate
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: David Ricketts, Toni Childs
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@harveyjones1245
A man I met in my youth
Came to me in the light of truth
A beautiful dream that was
Till he died one rainy fall
There I was a child bride
Widowed at ninteen, defied
Never would I let him go
Go to the place that heaven knows
On the evening of his death
My shoulders felt a brushing breath
Cold were his hands on my breast
The man that I loved and put to rest
He came to me and held me close
We danced til dawn in the early snow
There I felt him cry and cry
"I'll never leave, leave your side"
Oh the madness
This town thinks I'm mad
Sixty years, has it been a dream
This man I'm haunted by, I see
I'm eighty years and on my bed
Awaiting death, that final breath
He sits by and looks to me
"Soon you will come and be with me"
Now I feel all warm inside
As I leave this mortal body behind
Seems it is eternal's way
We're waltzing into heaven's gate
@Sassylass1978
A man I met in my youth
Came to me in the light of truth
A beautiful dream that was
Till he died one rainy fall
There I was a child bride
Widowed at ninteen, defied
Never would I let him go
Go to the place that heaven knows
On the evening of his death
My shoulders felt a brushing breath
Cold were his hands on my breast
The man that I loved and put to rest
He came to me and held me close
We danced til dawn in the early snow
There I felt him cry and cry
"I'll never leave, leave your side"
Oh the madness
This town thinks I'm mad
Sixty years, has it been a dream
This man I'm haunted by, I see
I'm eighty years and on my bed
Awaiting death, that final breath
He sits by and looks to me
"Soon you will come and be with me"
Now I feel all warm inside
As I leave this mortal body behind
Seems it is eternal's way
We're waltzing into heaven's gate
@demiggi
This is hands down the most beautiful song ever written and performed, brings me to tears every time I listen to it.
@eugenewardjr.3506
This woman's soul is so deep I believe it may be bottomless. Such a tender, caring songwriter and singer.
@ransmyr
Definitely among the most beautiful songs ever composed.
@lyndellyounger6969
Absolutely agree 💙✨
@PauI_Guitar
Fact.
@isabelle.Caillat
Pour moi, bien plus qu’une chanson, un graal ❤❤❤
@isabelle.Caillat
Je l’avais enregistré sur mon radio k7 en 1989, la plus belle des voix, la plus sublime des mélodies, depuis personne n’a jamais su me dire qui chantait, ce fut jusqu’à cette semaine ou enfin je l’ai retrouvé, la quête musicale de toute une vie ❤❤❤ je ne peux pas exprimer la profondeur de mon émotion, ce jour restera à jamais gravé comme un des plus beaux jours de ma vie 🍀🍀🍀 merci infiniment pour le partage de cette rare, très très rare vidéo 🙏🏼🎉🤩🙏🏼🎉
@harveyjones1245
A man I met in my youth
Came to me in the light of truth
A beautiful dream that was
Till he died one rainy fall
There I was a child bride
Widowed at ninteen, defied
Never would I let him go
Go to the place that heaven knows
On the evening of his death
My shoulders felt a brushing breath
Cold were his hands on my breast
The man that I loved and put to rest
He came to me and held me close
We danced til dawn in the early snow
There I felt him cry and cry
"I'll never leave, leave your side"
Oh the madness
This town thinks I'm mad
Sixty years, has it been a dream
This man I'm haunted by, I see
I'm eighty years and on my bed
Awaiting death, that final breath
He sits by and looks to me
"Soon you will come and be with me"
Now I feel all warm inside
As I leave this mortal body behind
Seems it is eternal's way
We're waltzing into heaven's gate
@wcfields4906
A one of a kind voice.
@rayandlee1969
Absolutely beautiful. A nice waltz pace to tell a beautiful story. Our loved ones wait beyond heaven's gate 💗